Understanding water transport & storage needs in : Needs assessment and user feedback D-BRIEF from MIT D-Lab Scale-Ups­ – Spring 2014

Gaining access to convenient, affordable, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES clean water Understand existing water collection, n January and February of 2014, an MIT D-Lab team conducted a qualitative transport, storage and treatment needs assessment study in order to gain an understanding of the current practices and needs for water collection, transport, storage, and treatment in behavior in Kenya. I Kenya. The team utilized semi-structured interviews, focus groups and co-design Investigate current water collection, sessions to identify challenges to procuring clean and safe water and to gather feedback on an existing water transportation, storage and dispensing solution, the transport, and storage needs in Kenya. PackH2O water backpack. Understand the use of the PackH20 The needs identified in the rural, peri-urban and urban communities outside of water transportation product in Kenya. , Kenya (, Limuru and Marurui) warrant further investivation in communities around the world facing water challenges. In particular, lack of Determine areas for future assessment household water storage capacity was highlighted in the results of this study as an and research. unmet and underemphasized need. Solutions to this problem have the ability to reduce time, energy and financial stresses felt by individuals and households as a result of current water collection and transport challenges.

Key findings and recommendations There are opportunities to explore transport and storage solutions that meet needs related to drinking water, and water for other uses. Increase in water storage capacity: • Increase total household storage capacity. • Increase access to larger storage containers. Reduction of time, energy, and cost for collecting water: • Make water-intensive activities, such as washing laundry, more water-efficient (to decrease the quantity of water needed). • Increase users’ ability to collect more water at a time. • Decrease the effort required for water collection. A convenient and hygienic water dispensing solution: • Increase access to storage containers with taps or faucets.

Advancing these solutions may include development of new transport, storage or dispensing solutions, or exploration of an appropriate market strategy for existing storage containers. MIT D-Lab staff member Benji Moncivaiz transports a 20-liter jerrycan on his back, a commonly used method. Understanding water transport and storage needs in Kenya

Methods & study design Current water transport, storage & ver the course of five weeks in January and early February treatment behavior: Kenya 2014, D-Lab conducted a needs assessment in several com- he team’s study showed that, in the locations visited, water O munities located within two hours of Nairobi, Kenya: Maru- collectors make a number of trips (daily or several times rui, an urban slum, (and nearby village Katalembo), a rural, weekly) with small containers (commonly 20 liter plastic hilly area, and Ndeiya (along with neighboring Limuru), a peri-urban T jerrycans carried on the back) to taps on their premises, to kiosks community. These locations were selected based on geographic diver- to purchase water, or to natural sources such as springs or streams. sity, available information on water source types and average distance Many people collect water from more than one source depending from home to source, and recommendations from Partners for Care on the type of water needed and the season, and fill more than (PFC), D-Lab’s local host and collaborating organization. one container per collection day. For instance, people might col- The team used a variety of qualitative methods to collect information lect drinking water from the spring or kiosk and water for washing on water behavior and needs related to water collection, storage, and from the stream. They prioritize cleaner water for drinking, even if treatment, including 69 semi-structured interviews (with 53 water it means traveling further to the source. collectors and 16 other stakeholders such as PFC staff and commu- Although the average travel time to a source is 16 to 17 minutes, nity health workers), five focus groups and two co-design sessions (74 the time to fill a container can range from a few minutes to an hour participants), and observation and informal conversation at 13 water depending on the source and time of year. In locations where long sources. waits at the source are common, people typically take all of their containers with them on their first trip and fill them all once their Water collection & transport: turn comes. They then transport one container home at a time (un- a global perspective less they have access to a wheelbarrow, cart, or bicycle) and leave lobally, an estimated 200 million hours are spent collect- the remaining full containers at the source. At kiosks in Ndeiya, ap- ing water each day. Approximately 780 million people lack proximately half of the people purchasing water bring jerrycans and access to an improved drinking water source, and 1.5 mil- transport them on their backs, while the other half bring donkey G carts or hand-drawn carts with larger plastic drums to fill. lion people—primarily children under the age of five—die each year from diarrheal disease caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanita- “I collect laundry water from the stream and drinking water tion, or insufficient hygiene (World Health Organization, UNICEF). from the spring. When it rains heavily during the day I drain the rain water into a tank.” Given the time requirements and the potential adverse health effects — Female collector, Mitaboni water collector of transporting water, and the negative health effects from water con- tamination through unsafe storage in the home, there is a need to al- Seasonal changes can affect behavior. Collection time increases leviate the burden of carrying water over long distances and difficult during the dry season due to scarcity of water; during the rainy terrain, and improve household storage technologies. D-Lab’s study season, when rainwater is abundant, the number of trips to the in Kenya investigated the behavior surrounding these issues, and ex- source decreases. A large number of people harvest rainwater to plored related needs and desired features of potential solutions. complement other methods of water collection (and to save time and money), but lack access to sufficient rainwater storage (see ta- ble p.3). Water collection may cost money as well as time. Those who have taps generally receive bills on a monthly basis for the water used. Those without a tap may have to purchase water from a kiosk, ven- dor, or neighbor if they do not have access to a natural and free source. Treatment behaviors in communities vary. Some people choose not to treat their drinking water, while others boil or chlorinate their water. Those who boil their water appear to take special care to keep drinking water in different containers than those used for Transporting a 20-liter jerrycan with a locally made wheelbarrow. transport. D-Brief from MIT D-Lab Scale-Ups Spring 2014

Findings & recommendations he team’s interviews, observations, informal conversations, and focus groups resulted in a deeper understanding of ex- T isting water transport, storage, and treatment behaviors. Content analysis of the data revealed new insights and needs, and focus groups and co-design sessions drew out design requirements and important features for potential solutions. Unmet needs for water collection and storage in general, and for Members of the D-Lab team tested a variety of water collection and transport solutions including the Wello WaterWheel, pictured above. drinking water specifically (including treatment), were identified. Current behaviors and needs related to water collection, storage, 2. Reduction of time, energy, and cost for collecting water. and dispensing vary, and so a variety of solutions may be required to Making water-intensive activities such as laundry-washing more wa- optimally meet all of the needs expressed. ter-efficient can decrease the water collection burden. In general, mak- 1. Increase in water storage capacity. ing water collection more efficient in terms of time, money, and labor, has the potential to benefit the individual and household by freeing up One of the major needs identified is additional storage capacity. resources for other needs. Household storage capacity, averaging about 250 liters per house- hold, is often made up of a number of smaller containers. However, By increasing the ability to collect more water at a time, the time and the total capacity is not sufficient, according to research participants. money spent on water collection can be reduced. For those purchasing water from kiosks or vendors, there is a cost advantage to purchasing Increasing storage capacity is a way to reduce the frequency and larger quantities (such as with drums instead of jerrycans) as a result of cost of water collection. With affordable, larger-capacity containers, decreased per-unit cost. people could accumulate rainwater when it is available and reduce the number of additional water collection trips and dependence on Enabling the use of transport solutions that hold more water per trip piped water. to the source, such as wheelbarrows and donkeys or carts with drums, could also result in fewer trips to the source. Compared to carrying Community members with access to a municipal water supply via a jerrycan on one’s back, these modes of transport (wheelbarrows, a tap on or near their compounds sometimes face water shortages donkeys and carts) may be less physically demanding. New ways of and restrictions. Increased storage capacity makes it possible to store transport may be explored to do the same. rainwater, and less-restricted municipal tap water, for use if and when the source runs dry. Focus group participants indicated preference for transport technol- ogies that took less effort to use and were easy to transport, carried a Storage needs could be addressed through increased access to larg- large quantity of water, could be used by children, and worked well er storage containers and an increase in household storage capacity. on the local terrain. Other desired features mentioned were ways to To increase access to larger storage containers, lower-cost containers prevent water from spilling or leaking, ways to reduce fatigue from or alternate funding options for existing options would need to be transporting water, durability, affordability or accessibility, being easy developed. to clean, and being comfortable to use. Focus group participants specified preference for large-capacity containers that were easy to clean, visually appealing, long-lasting, 3. A convenient and hygienic water dispensing solution. and portable. The majority of PackH2O recipients used the pack primarily (or exclu- sively) for storing drinking water, highlighting the need for an affordable Current Reported Total Household Water Storage Capacity safe storage option. Particularly for drinking water, people need storage 10 and dispensing solutions that are convenient, intuitive, and hygienic. 9 8 Water storage containers should be easy to clean, and ideally equipped 7 6 Rural with taps or faucets to separate intake from outflow. Drinking water that 5 4 Urban is stored in a clean container can easily be contaminated by dirty hands 3 Peri- or dipping cups. An outflow tap integrated into the container greatly re- 2 urban Number of people Number 1 duces the incidence of contamination. Increased access to storage con- 0 100L or less 101-200L 201-300L 301-400L 401-500L Over 500L tainers with taps or faucets should be explored. Understanding water transport and storage needs in Kenya

CO-DESIGN WORKSHOP Drawing inspiration from D-Lab’s Creative Capacity Building (CCB) methodology, researchers developed a co-design method, a du- al-purpose hands-on design workshop and qualitative research method. In CCB-style co-design sessions, participants design and build prototypes to address a local challenge; when they explain the motivation and reasoning behind their designs, researchers gain a deeper understanding of needs and preferences, and prototypes re- veal physical representations of desired features. In Kenya, groups were prompted to build something to transport 20 liters of water over a distance of two kilometers. The resulting prototypes had a va- riety of features that expressed different needs for a solution: some designs emphasized stability for easy filling, padded straps for com- fort, and use of strong materials for increased durability.

Next steps Acknowledgments Lab encourages others to build on this study to explore This D-Lab Scale-Ups study was made possible by funding from ways to facilitate access to greater water storage, and Greif, Inc. D-Lab thanks Partners for Care for their extensive D to decrease the cost, reduce the time needed, and ease on-the-ground assistance to the D-Lab team during the project physical burden of water collection and transport. fieldwork in Kenya. D-Lab remains interested in continuing this work and welcomes Contributing to this study and report were MIT D-Lab staff inquiries from potential partners. Rebecca Smith, Kendra Leith, Benji Moncivaiz, Saida Benhayoune, and Victor Grau Serrat; interpreters and project assistants Pauline Future impact Kibaru, Anne Wamugunda, and Njeri Kara; staff from Partners nderstanding Water Transport and Storage Needs in Kenya for Care; and Greif staff member Holly Sunderman. is a preliminary study that identified increased water U storage capacity as an unmet, and underemphasized, Further information & full report water-related need in the communities studied. Kendra Leith, Evaluation Manager The results from this study are specific to the context and market in [email protected] | 617-324-6008 Kenya. Similar studies in other geographic areas would add to the D-Lab | Massachusetts Institute of Technology body of knowledge on the size and scope of this need. 77 Massachusetts Ave., Bldg N51-317, Cambridge, MA 02139 USA

MIT D-Lab User Research Framework This project, Understanding Water Transport and Storage Needs in Kenya, was used as a case study for the D-Lab Scale-Ups User Research Framework, published in 2014. The guide provides in-depth guidance on how to create a qualitative research plan and approach cross-cultural interviews, observation, and immersion activities as well as D-Lab’s co-design method. d-lab.mit.edu/user-research-framework-download

Launched in 2011 by D-Lab, the Scale-Ups program assists social entrepreneurs from MIT and the developing world, as well as NGOs and corporations, to bring poverty alleviating technologies to market at scale.

Development through Dialogue, Design & Dissemination

Image on page one header: A donkey cart, carrying a large drum, is used for water transport at a peri-urban water kiosk. MIT D-Lab Jan 2016